Assault trial ends in hung jury as driver's intent is debated

It was clear that a Seattle police officer reached into Rory Chaten's car, and it was equally clear that Chaten stepped on the gas pedal.

What jurors couldn't decide yesterday was whether the 39-year-old Seattle man wanted to hurt Officer Bill Guyer -- or merely wanted to get away from him. The hung jury prompted a mistrial in the weeklong assault trial.

The King County Superior Court trial was unique, with parallels to the controversial police shooting of Aaron Roberts and a celebrity jury foreman -- John Keister, former host of the local television show "Almost Live!"

Chaten already faces up to 17 months in prison for the July incident. He pleaded guilty last week to recklessly endangering his toddler daughter, who was in the back seat, along with felony hit-and-run and attempting to elude police.

Keister said deciding those charges would have been easy. What proved impossible was agreeing on whether Chaten had assaulted the officer -- essentially, what Chaten was thinking when he decided to drive away.

"All of us agreed that the defendant had done some bad things," Keister said. "The real issue was intent."

Five jurors believed Chaten was guilty of second-degree assault -- meaning he used his Cadillac as a deadly weapon. The rest were willing to convict him of a lesser third-degree assault charge.

Guyer pulled over Chaten in Rainier Valley on July 27, then reached for the gear selector when the man refused to turn off the car. Chaten drove away, briefly dragging the officer, who suffered scrapes and bruises.

Police caught up with Chaten after he plowed into several parked cars.

Chaten's lawyer, Veronica Freitas, said Chaten didn't know the officer was going to reach into the car.

Keister declined to reveal his leaning, but juror Robert McIntosh said Chaten was likely trying to flee. He guessed Chaten had heard about Roberts -- shot by police two months earlier after allegedly dragging an officer with his car -- and was scared.

"You can't be a black male and not understand what he was thinking," said McIntosh, who is black, of the black defendant.

Prosecutors, who have not decided whether to retry Chaten, contend race had nothing to do with it.